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Your smartphone battery life is important. An iPhone with a full charge can get you anywhere, connect you to anyone, and even supply you with anything, like the city’s best food of course. To keep your phone up and running, we want to tell you the worst apps for your battery life, be it iOS or Android.

We’ll simply give you the battery life killer hit list, tell you how to reduce their impact on then show you a couple of comparisons of the different battery killing apps represented in Repairly HQ.

Remember, depending on your app usage, these may very. Obviously, all apps consume battery life. But some are severe battery drainers. This is a list of the worst.

1. Snapchat

2. Facebook Messenger

3. Google Maps

4. Twitter

5. Google Chrome

All of these apps make your battery sad. But we want to teach you the trick to making it last longer.

How To Reduce Apps From Killing Your Battery

There are a few things you can do to prevent your battery from draining so quickly. These couple of points below will help you locate the problem. Soon you should be on your way to increasing your daily mobile consumption. Hopefully, it can be that little extra bit of battery juice that can hold you over until you get to the next charging point.

Battery Usage

The first thing you’re going to want to do is check what apps are draining your iPhone.

To keep an eye on battery usage, open Settings and select Battery.

There will be a list with the apps you use and information on the percentage of battery that is drained by each. You can choose to toggle between the ‘Last 24 Hours’ and ‘Last 7 Days’ to get a better overview.

If you want to see how much time each app spends running in the background. Simply select the clock in the right corner to see how much on-screen time and minutes of background time each app uses.

Background App Refresh

Now that you’ve identified the battery stealing culprits, it’s time to take action. The apps that are running way too often in the background are the one’s you’re definitely going to want to turn-off. We’ll show you how to do a background app refresh.

This can go a long way in saving significant amounts of battery life by itself. You can choose individual apps from refreshing in the background, or turn-off background refresh altogether. However, there is one more method you can use that most people don’t know about.

Add To Home Screen

This last method is useful for your favourite social apps, which will always use the most battery life, unless you are gaming a lot on the tube.

Here’s an example: The Facebook app may use a lot of your battery, but you can bypass using the app by doing this:

To skip using the app, open Safari. Go to Facebook and login. Then select the Share icon at the bottom, center of the screen. Tap Add to Home Screen.

A screen will pop-up with the name and url address. When you tap Add, the icon will be added to your Home Screen for easy access to Facebook, or whatever website you choose.

The icon added to your Home Screen will look like the Facebook app but will open a web browser instead of using the energy-draining app. You can use this method for Twitter and other websites you love that don’t have apps as well.

Unfortunately, this last method won’t work for some apps like Google Chrome or Google Maps. However, turning off Background App Refresh should make a significant difference for those two. If you’re still not happy about the battery usage, it could be time to look into other options, like getting a battery replacement.

Repairly HQ Phone Battery Usage Comparison

In the office we did a survey of our phone battery usage. It’s quite interesting to see where people spend their valuable time engaging on their phone. I’ll show you the top 5 apps that our team uses from 5 different team members (one is from WeGym, but we work together often).

Myself – You can tell where my priorities lie. I love chatting to friends and family whilst listening to music.

Rich – As you can see Rich has a lot of background activity on. He loves browsing the safari, because he’s a facts guy. You can always count on him. Citymapper is also pretty popular in London.

Fraser – This is interesting. I’ve never seen Fraser play 8 Ball Pool, but he does have a thirst for knowledge, which is what I assume he was doing on YouTube for so long.

Andy – From these percentages, either Andy doesn’t use his phone much, or he just has a really efficient Android. He is currently building a side hustle company, which is probably why Acast (podcasts) and YouTube take-up a chunk of his battery power.

Josh – Our friend founded a company called WeGym, where you can get a Personal Trainer with a squad who have the same fitness goals as you do. He is quite the outgoing type. Can you tell?

Most of us are constantly using our phones. If you need us to help you figure out your battery issues and have any questions feel free to get in touch with us directly. We’d love to get your battery performing it’s best as quickly as possible.

We live in London, it’s almost inevitable that at one point or another you’ll end up with a water damaged iPhone or Android. As a repair company, we care a lot about the devices you use every waking minute. Our phones are personal. We FaceTime our best friends and family, schedule important reminders to our calendars for work, even find live updates for public transport. That being said, it’s in your best interest to know how to protect your phone from water damage. Listed below are some helpful tips we found to help you keep your phone dry.

Avoiding Phone Water Damage

Use a Waterproof Case

It’s winter. Let’s face it, in the UK it’s almost always rain season. Investing in a good waterproof case now could save you money in the long run. Some of our favourites are:

Pelican Marine Case

Source: DigitalTrends

Catalyst Waterproof Case

Source: CatalystLifestyle

LifeProof Waterproof Case

Source: Lifeproof

Use Headphones

An easy way for your phone to avoid getting wet on your daily commute is to simply keep it in your pocket or bag. Use a set of headphone if you need to speak with someone urgently, or pop into the nearest cafe to use citymapper. Wired headphones, even bluetooth headsets will have better water resistance than your phone.

Use a Zip Pouch

Another way to protect your phone from water damage is to secure it in a zip pouch. You can find Vansky waterproof pouches on Amazon for a reasonable price that will fit most phones. They are a best seller and are fully submersible up to 30m, perfect for any activity involving water.

What to Do if Water Still Gets Into Your Phone

All of these options can certainly reduce your risk of water damage, but nothing is a one-hundred percent guarantee. If your phone manages to still get wet you can use the good old, tried-and-tested dry-out method by following these steps:

*Remember if your phone is fully submersed in water and unprotected, don’t turn it on.

If it is still on:

Switch off the phone.

Wipe down the phone with an absorbent cloth or tissue.

Remove the SIM card, memory card and battery from the phone. (iPhones simply need to remove their SIM card.)

Bury it in a bag full of uncooked rice.

Let it sit in the rice for 72 hours before switching it on.

We hope this helps to keep your phone dry and connected to the world around you. Accidents happen, and water damage isn’t something that is covered under warrantee. Make sure you’re careful when it’s raining, and more importantly around water.

Looking to Get Your Device Fixed Quickly?

Remember to keep us in mind next time your phone or tablet is damaged.

At Repairly, we collect, repair and return your device in an average of 2 hours and 06 minutes. All you have to do is enter your postcode and book. You don’t even have to leave your home.

Apple officially announced that the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models are splash and water resistant. With a rating of IP67, the two phones can survive being submerged in water for 30 minutes up to a depth of 1 meter. Why is it then, that people are experiencing iPhone 7 muffled speakers?

We have had people getting in contact with us, here at Repairly, about their iPhone 7 having muffled speakers. It turns out lots of people think that putting their iPhone 7 is a great party trick!

Apple’s Recommendations

The big caveat here is that Apple does not cover liquid damage under the warranty. Recommendations from Apple of activities to avoid include :

Swimming or bathing with the phone

Exposing it to high-velocity water such as when showering, surfing jet, etc

Exposing it to steam

Intentionally submerging the phone in the water

Now, it’s impossible to avoid liquid encounters completely and we get it, it happens. While your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus should normally be able to breeze through minor incidents and splashes, recently a Reddit user reported using the device to listen to music in the shower and found that the sound was getting muffled. This is probably due to the water getting in through the tiny cavities in the speaker and causing a blockage.

With the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple included a nifty way to make use of the speakers to push out the water and clear up the speakers. It’s baffling why they have decided against including a similar mechanism in the new iPhones.

How To Fix Your iPhone 7 Muffled Speakers

Nevertheless, there is a super handy app called Sonic that can mimic that function of the Apple Watch by emitting a sine wave at a frequency which ejects the water droplets from the speakers.

Steps:
1. Download the Sonic app from the App Store
2. Set the tone to anywhere between 160-170 Hz and click play. 165 Hz has been reported to be most effective, however, feel free to experiment and see what works best
3. Take a piece of cloth and wipe off the droplets

Ta-da, that should result in your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus no longer being muffled. We’d be happy to hear if this worked for you, please let us know our experience!

If you’re looking for other iPhone repairs, then we would be happy to help. Take a look here.

It was a quiet Sunday evening, and I had just got back from a holiday in Portugal. I was in the middle of trying to change a lightbulb (true progress on the DIY front for me), and I felt the need to tell Rich, my co-founder, about a feeling that had been consuming me for three weeks or so.

I had been filled by a pretty deep sadness. It wasn’t about any one thing in particular, but it made my tasks seem less achievable. Goals seemed further away, my connection to those around me seemed dull and dampened. Very unlike me, I was low on energy.

Rich discussed it with me whilst observing my miserable efforts with the lightbulb. We arrived at the conclusion that a faint imposter syndrome had turned into the start of a feeling that seemed much like depression. Without necessarily trying to solve the problem immediately, the simple act of telling Rich how I actually felt, made a substantial difference for me.

From my experience, mental health is a topic that gets ignored in entrepreneurship.

Whether it’s the stigma that still surrounds it, or if it’s the media glamorises working ourselves to the ground, it seems undeniable that founders aren’t paying enough attention to their own emotions yet.

Entrepreneurship and Identity

It gets scarier when you look at how entrepreneurs define their identities. Typically, as James and I mention here, your identity is inextricably linked to your startup. I.e. Fraser = Repairly, James = Sanctus.

It’s an interesting paradigm. When you’re winning, you’re really winning. It means that you hustle harder: when your sense of worth is derived from your business succeeding, you have a strong imperative to push for growth.

There’s a lot of up and downs on there. The more attached your identity is to your startup’s success, the more your emotions will peak and crash. It’s pretty brutal, in my experience.

This is where techniques to manage your mental health are seriously powerful. They won’t stop your emotions from swinging. But, having your mental health in check will bring emotions to a more stable equilibrium.

In the long term, I believe this will make you a more effective entrepreneur. Your cognition will be less loaded with unhelpful emotions, giving you more optimism, greater clarity of thought, more empathy, more creativity… and the list goes on.

Enter James From Sanctus

To get started on understanding your mental health, check out the clip below. There’s plenty of discussion on the topic, as well as suggestions for getting started with techniques such as meditation and awareness practice.

Installed with the right apps, iPad is one of the most productive tools for any entrepreneur. These apps will help you organise the workload while providing with motivation to ensure seamless operation of your business. Here are some of the top iPad Apps for Entrepreneurs.

#1. MobileDay

In most cases, making meeting and conference calls cause a headache for many entrepreneurs. This can be worse if you are handling over ten people in a teleconference. This app is automatically integrated into the calendar of your iPad and notifies everyone prior to any conference call. With one touch, the app will connect you to all people on a teleconference. Moreover, MobileDay

With one touch, the app will connect you to all people on a teleconference. Moreover, MobileDay allow call scheduling as well as running late notifications. This useful app will help you organize your busy schedule with lots of ease.

#2. Adobe eSign Manager DC

Signing of documents on daily basis is imperative for every entrepreneur. Some of the documents should be signed in person. In this case, this app can allow you to accomplish the task even if you are a business tour. You don’t have to worry about the security of the signed documents because they are encrypted and stored in a secure server. Moreover, the recipient will get authenticity certificate to show that the document was legally signed.

#3. Venmo

Venmo is a handy app when you or your employee is in urgent need of cash. This is the perfect app for sending money to your staff members. This app is part of PayPal thus making it very dependable in terms of security. Therefore, each transaction in encrypted hence making it hard for fraudsters to steal your money. In fact, this is an essential for every entrepreneur.

#4. Calcbot

This is a handy app for converting currency or calculating the bank balance. This app works as a unit converter as well as a calculator. In this case, Calcbot is useful if you are an international entrepreneur. The best thing about this app is that it supports Apple Watch so you don’t necessarily need your iPad to do calculation.

#5. CardKeeper

As an entrepreneur, you will receive a lot of business cards from most of the people you will meet. These business cards will fill your wallets and pockets, making things bulky. Fortunately, CardKeeper scans, digitise, and organise your business cards on your iPad. Moreover, this app allows sending of scanned app to other CardKeeper app users.

#6. Unroll.Me

As an entrepreneur, you will receive marketing emails, promotions, and newsletters. In some cases, it can be daunting task to search for important email from the spam. In this case, this app will keep your email account organized as only shows things that are relevant. Moreover, this app will help you unsubscribe from the emails that are not important.

#7. Mint

Your aim as an entrepreneur is to make profits out your business. In this case, Mint keeps a close watch on the cash flow of your business. Moreover, this app helps you manage your finance as well as making budget.

Conclusion

Being an entrepreneur is challenging task, especially if you don’t have the right tools. With these iPad Apps for Entrepreneurs, your dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur will come true. It is important to remember that these apps are free of charge.

To learn more about getting your iPad repaired by Repairly, click here!

Samsung has been in the spotlight after their flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone started bursting into flames. The company initiated a product recall in September 2016 but as the situation escalated they had to permanently discontinue the Note 7 altogether.

Take a look at our infographic summarising the fiasco below.

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Worldwide Recall
– Over 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones were recalled in September 2016 due to the risk of malfunction and fire.
– Samsung was expected to sell 19 million Note 7 phones. According to analysts the company would have been expected to sell around 19 million devices in the product’s lifecycle.

Battery Problems
– 96 Galaxy Note 7 devices were reported with issues.
– 13 people injured. Samsung customers suffered from burns and injuries.
– 47 people faced damaged property. Other Samsung customers faced damaged personal property.
– 2 caught fire during flight. The Note 7 is now banned from so many airlines, they’ve opened stalls in airports for customers to get a refund or trade-in their device before their flight.

Impact on Samsung
– Samsung could lose $17 billion in revenue. Analysts from Credit Suisse predicted Samsung to lose nearly US$17 billion in revenue from the recall and discontinuation.
– After the news Samsung stock slumped 10%…
– Wiping $21bn from its market value.
– 5 – 7 million Samsung users are expected to switch to Apple iPhone. Analysts at KGI believe that the consumer trust has been damaged meaning many Samsung users could switch to alternatives such as the iPhone and Google Pixel.

Sources: See infographic.

Thank you for viewing our infographic. If you have any questions, please get in touch with hello@repairly.co.uk or Repairly.

If you need to repair your iPad then you’ll need to know which model it is. We know this can be a little confusing. Apple don’t make it easy. We, at Repairly, have put together this little guide so that you can find out which model you have.

Where Do I Find The iPad Model Number?

To find information about your iPad, you simply flip it over and read the branded information at the bottom centre part of it. However, there’s more to the letters and numbers you see down there.

Read on to find out how to identify the identity of your tablet correctly.

How do I know which iPad Model and Generation I have?

Here is a comprehensive guide to understanding your iPad. You’ll be able to find the generation, model number, version and it’s top features.

The information at the bottom centre comprises of the brand name; iPad and storage information, either 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes (GB). Below that you will see more information about the iPad. The first line begins with “Designed by Apple in California” and at the end you will see the “Model” and a five-character model number beginning with the letter A.

With this model number, use the following information to find out more about your iPad model. Simply head to the ‘table of contents’ at the top of the page and look for the matching ID. Alternatively, press CMD + F on a Mac / CTRL + F on a Windows and enter in the digits on the back of your iPad and it will take you to the appropriate section.

iPad Pro 9.7″ (Wi-Fi + Cellular)

Model Number: A1674

The iPad Pro is Apple’s newest iPad edition, being released in 2016. It comes in two sizes with the 9.7 inch model being the smallest of the range. This version comes with both wifi and cellular capabilities.

It has several colour options including silver, space gray, gold, or rose gold. In terms of the memory options, Apple offer a 32 GB, 128GB and a 256 GB version. This caters for all types of customers, from the weekend browser to the hardcore user.

iPad Pro 12.9″ (Wi-Fi)

Model Number: A1584

The 12.9 inch iPad Pro is the bigger brother to the 9.7 inch version. This larger version of the Pro generation still comes with Retina display and Touch ID.

Unlike its younger and smaller sibling, this iPad Pro was released in 2015. It also comes with a more limited range of colours silver, space gray, or gold. The model number A1584 is the wifi only version, without cellular capabilities.

iPad Pro 12.9″ (Wi-Fi + Cellular)

Model Number: A1652

Completing the iPad Pro range is the 12.9 inch model. This is the version of the 12.9 inch iPad Pro that has cellular feature. You can insert a nano-sim card and use it without being restrained to wifi. It comes with all of the same features as the above model.

Like the other Pro’s it has great four-speaker audio. Highly recommended.

iPad 4 (Wi-Fi + Cellular MM)

Model Number: A1460

This model is almost entirely identical to the iPad 4 (Wi-Fi + Cellular), except for the addition of a “multimode” to the cellular chipset which gives it the ability to support multiple networks – GSM + CDMA + LTE.

iPad 3 (Wi-Fi)

Model Number: A1416

The iPad 3 came out in Early 2012 and was soon discontinued with the launch of the iPad 4, just 7 months after. It was the last iPad to have the 30-pin connector.

It can came in white or black front bezel and in 16,32,64 GB configurations.

iPad Mini 3 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)

Model Number: A1600

iPad Mini 2 (Wi-Fi)

Model Number: A1489

The iPad mini 2 was launched in late 2013 and had four storage options – 16,32,64 and 128 GB. Unlike the newer model, this model only provided two colour options – silver and space grey. It also boasted an HD FaceTime camera with an improved iSight camera.

iPad Mini 2 (Wi-Fi + Cellular TD-LTE)

Model Number: A1491

This version of the iPad was launched in early 2014, in addition to the previous two models – A1489 and A1490. This specific model was launched with additional TD-LTE handling capabilities.

iPad Mini (Wi-Fi)

Model Number: A1432

The first generation of iPad mini came out in late 2012. It provided 3 storage options – 16,32 and 64GB and like its successor, it came in two colour options – silver and space grey. It also started off the lineup by featuring Apple’s Lightning connector.

iPad Mini (Wi-Fi + Cellular MM)

Model Number: A1455

This model, just like the A1454 model has support for cellular networks but it also has added support for a broader range of networks which gives it the “MM” in its name, meaning multi-mode.

This can be useful information when trying to work out if an app is compatible with your tablet, or if you’ll be able to run the next version of iOS, among other things.

Keep in mind that the MM version of the fourth-generation iPad and the iPad Mini refers to those with CDMA compatibility.

When looking for more information about your iPad, you can also go to the settings app, then General tab and finally “About”. You will find an alphanumeric string next to it and type this information on to your favourite search engine to know more about your device.

The make and models of iPad’s are constantly changing due to the innovations tech experts are making today. They are now more practical and contain some of the most essential elements that we need in our daily lives, considering the age we live in. This is one of the main reasons why iPad’s manufacturer is always seeking information in regards to what their customers need. Products are now made to certain specifications so as to offer value to users.

Understanding the kind of iPad you have may seem like a simple task, but it’s quite essential. This is the only way, you will make full use of it and its applications.